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Woori Financial Group Chairman Sohn Tae-seung, left, poses with Community Chest of Korea Chairman Ye Jong-suk, at the charity organization's office in Seoul, Jan. 30, after donating 2 billion won ($18 million) to help the underprivileged ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, which will fall on Feb. 5. Courtesy of Woori Bank
KSD CEO Lee Byung-rhaeBy Lee Kyung-min Korea Securities Depository (KSD) is taking a leading role in boosting personnel and work-related exchanges among international central securities depositories (CSDs), in a bid to raise their profile on the global stage. This is part of a broader move to lay the groundwork to help the CSDs facilitate businesses under a long-term goal to promote global securities businesses.The initiative is led by KSD CEO Lee Byung-rhae who became chairman of the Asia-Pacific Central Securities Depository Group (ACG) in March 2017, following a vote participated in by eight ACG executive bodies. Lee routed his major contender from India. His term will end in September 2019.Lee doubles as the chairman of the World Forum of CSDs (WFC) with the term set to end in April 2019. “KSD seeks to promote the prosperity of ACG and WFC member countries that understand and share the need to develop and nurture organized programs that could create a synergy,” a KSD official said.Korea, as the secretariat of both the ACG and WFC, plans to assume a particularly import
NongHyup Bank CEO Lee Dae-hoonBy Lee Kyung-min NongHyup Bank CEO Lee Dae-hoon is on a seven-day trip to Hong Kong and two South East Asian countries, as part of a strategic move to ensure successful overseas business expansion, the bank said Monday. Lee visited Hong Kong Jan. 27 and Indonesia Jan. 28, and is set to visit Vietnam and other countries before returning home Feb. 2.“The primary focus of the visit is to make sure our business plans in the key areas go without any problems,” an official from the bank said.The lender is now seeking to obtain a license to provide banking services in Hong Kong and to secure approval to set up a corporate body in Indonesia. It also seeks to open a branch in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. The bank said future business strategies will be outlined to best meet the needs of customers in respective areas in the three countries.The one-week visit will be soon followed by a trip to the U.S. where the bank's New York branch had to pay an $11 million (12.3 billion won) fine for failing to meet compliance requirements on anti-money laundering.
Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) CEO Eun Sung-soo, right, serves a young woman living in a shelter as part of the lender's volunteer activities ahead of Lunar New Year holidays at Seoul Station, Jan. 29. Lunar New Year's day falls on Feb. 5. Courtesy of Eximbank
'China's risk is massive for the world but even more so for Korea'By Lee Kyung-min Korea should brace for a looming crisis from China in light of the latter's recent “dismal” 6.6 percent growth rate in 2018, the slowest in 28 years since 1990, according to global economists. Following the disappointing GDP figure, analysts are split over whether the world's second-largest economy will undergo a “hard landing,” which many worry will send a shudder through the global economy and financial markets.The economists warned that the fast slowdown in China will pose a major risk to Korea which has a small, open and export-reliant economy. “Korea should be worried,” said Antonio Fatas, an economics professor at INSEAD. “Trade between the two countries is large and the region is very much dependent on China. China dominates the dynamics of the Asian region. The more global the crisis, the worse the outcome for Korea.”According to data from the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), exports accounted for 36.3 percent of Korea's GDP in 2018.K
Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki, fourth from right, and National Tax Service Commissioner Han Sung-hee, third from right, put their hands on their chests along with other high-ranking tax agency officials while pledging allegiance to the Korean national flag at the beginning of a meeting at the National Tax Service in Sejong, Jan. 28. YonhapBy Lee Kyung-min The National Tax Service will conduct more stringent investigations into suspected tax evasion involving overseas entities, it said Monday. This is part of a broader effort to ensure fair taxation by prompt identification of the tax avoidance and evasion methods that have been becoming more efficient and successful over the past few years. “Fair society and fair competition are and will remain our motto,” an NTS official said during the briefing at Sejong administrative city. “Multinational companies engaging in tax avoidance is not merely simple tax evasion but rather a clever way of exploiting existing loopholes in the current legal system. We will continue to watch and move in line with global efforts to tackle b
Merchants and customers crowd the traditional market in Dongdaemun, Seoul, Jan. 25, ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, which falls on Feb.5. Yonhap
BOK Governor Lee Ju-yeol bangs a gavel at a Monetary Policy Board meeting at the bank, Jan. 24. Courtesy of Bank of KoreaKey interest rate unchanged at 1.75 % By Lee Kyung-min The Bank of Korea (BOK) lowered its growth outlook for 2019 to 2.6 percent from an earlier forecast of 2.7 percent, citing lingering uncertainties over the U.S.-China trade feud and a global slowdown, the central bank reported Thursday.It left the key interest rate unchanged at 1.75 percent the same day. For 2020, the central bank also expects the economy to grow 2.6 percent.The BOK's revision came about three months after it revised down the figure to 2.7 percent in October 2018. “The downgrade reflects overall changes in global economic conditions with growth pace becoming slower. While the figure was revised down, the country will maintain growth momentum similar to that of 2018,” BOK Governor Lee Ju-yeol said at a press briefing. “We expect increases in consumption and exports amid continued operation of the government's expansionary fiscal policies.”Economists said that the downgrad
KDIC CEO Wi Seong-bakBy Lee Kyung-min A growing number of savings banks are calling for a reduction in the amount of premiums taken by the Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. (KDIC), Wednesday. This is part of a larger collective demand from non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) that have long criticized what they consider an outdated, unreasonable policy.They claim paying regular, stable premiums is unreasonable because they have rarely sought help for credit default in recent years. KDIC said lowering the rate is not possible as of now, given the 2011 fiasco whereby 30 major savings banks shut down due to financially unsound management. “We spent 27.2 trillion won ($25 billion) to resolve the situation at the time including setting up a special financial account by other banks, financial investment firms and insurers,” a KDIC official said.“The account will have to be operated until 2026 and it is unacceptable for the savings banks to ask for premium reductions citing recent improvements in their financial situation.”A possible default by a large financial firm
Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Governor Yoon Suk-heun, right, and KB Kookmin Bank CEO Hur Yin pose at a store in a traditional market in Yangcheon-gu, southwestern Seoul, Jan. 23. The two visited the market ahead of the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday to encourage people to shop more at traditional markets. Yonhap